Elliot skeptically asked, "Let me get this straight, you believe that this..'thing' killed Collin and the other victim?"

Thea turned away from the screen, "Ok, I know that I'm the youngest person in here but I'm not foolish enough to believe this demon came into our reality and is committing these murders. Our perp is disguising himself as The Crawler. And I'm pretty sure that this sketch isn't going to match anyone that's in the system."

Fin looked at his phone, "They're about to announce the verdict."

"I'll walk out with you," Lake said as he followed him out of the squad room. "I'm not torn up over missing this case."

"I didn't mean you were 'foolish', Thea," Elliot explained. "But this is pretty out there."

"I agree with Stabler, Thea," Logan added.

"I get it, ok?" Thea told them. "But the MO matches."

"In what way?" Barek asked.

"The Crawler attacks young boys from ages ten to fifteen. He claws out their eyes, rips the skin off their faces and removes their hearts and then.." She reluctantly looked at them as she finished her sentence, "eats it."

Everyone stared at her in disgust.

"How do you know this?" Olivia asked.

"I've seen the movie..and there's more. The Crawler is a reptilian demon that only wakes up to eat every ten years in mid-summer for one day. His victims are mostly male because he prefers them over women. He relishes in the chase whereas with his very few female victims, he only kills them if they are an inconvenience. He does it quick and off screen. He doesn't savor it like he does with his male victims."

"He's a predator," Munch said with a nod.

Thea pointed at him, "Exactly and he represents the 'inner demon' of the writer/director of the movie, Hernando Diaz."

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Don asked her.

"He's a convicted sex offender. He performed and received oral sex from the young star of his second film, Merry Murder, and he taped it. The victim's name is Edward Wyndham, he was 11 at the time," Thea explained. "Diaz had him blind folded."

"So he couldn't see what he was doing to him," Elliot said.

"Similar to gouging his eyes out," Barek added.

"What kind of a freak are we dealing with?" Logan asked.

"Other than being a predator why else do you think he fits the profile?" Barek asked Thea.

"The Crawler is a demon that can never be killed just like how pedophilia can't be cured. So, people have to be aware of the Crawler and the threat that he poses."

Olivia chimed in, "Like how pedophiles have to notify their neighbors of their sex offender status."

"Yes, except the only time when The Crawler is dangerous is when he's awake for that one day, most of the time he's dormant, not dead. Pedophiles are unpredictable. This move is Diaz's way of acting out his demons without actually hurting someone."

"Until now," John said.

"He's filming a sequel to Skin Crawl, they're shooting some scenes at Platinum Bell studios," Thea informed them. "I read it on some horror movie sites but I'll call ahead to check."

A middle-aged couple entered the squad room. Don approached them.

"I'm Captain Don Cragen-.." He began to say before the husband interrupted him.

"Captain Cragen, our son Liam has been missing since this morning. We saw on the news that you found a young boy in the park today.." Mr. Wallen said.

"We need to know if it is him," Mrs. Wallen asked in a shaken tone of voice while holding up a picture of their son.

Elliot and Olivia immediately went over to the couple.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wallen, these are Detectives Stabler and Benson, you should speak with them, privately," Don opened the door to the interview room.

"When was the last time you saw your son?" Elliot asked.

"Last night," Mrs. Wallen gave the picture to Olivia, "at nine when we put him to bed. We checked our apartment and no one broke in but we are certain that he would never run away.."

Olivia eyes examined the picture, she recognized the gold crucifix and mole on his right hand, "How recent is this picture?"

"We took it last week at Central Park, it was his eleventh birthday. The boy you found..is it him? Can we see him?" Mr. Wallen asked.

The detectives looked at each other knowing the victim was Liam.

Elliot reluctantly told them, "We'll need his dental records."

"Why can't we just see him?" Mr. Wallen asked him.

Olivia briefly glanced at Elliot before saying, "It wouldn't be possible to recognize him because there..there isn't anything left of the victim's face, that's why we need your son's dental records."

Mrs. Wallen started to break down into tears, "Oh my God..what did they do to him? What did they do to my boy?"

Mr. Wallen held his wife, "I'll call our dentist," he told the detectives.

After Elliot and Olivia left the interview room, Don said to them, "We just found out that Judge Tremer presided over Diaz's trial ten years ago."

"Could this be revenge?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know..Do you think our victim is their son?"

Nodding, Elliot answered, "Yeah, both boys having identical moles on their right hands and a gold crucifix, we need to see Warner."

"Well you can do that after you talk to Diaz. Barek and Logan are going with," Don said before going into his office to answer a call.

Dr. George Huang curiously looked at the John and his new partner.

"George," Don greeted him.

"Captain, sorry I'm late I had an appointment with a patient and it ran longer than I expected," he apologized.

"Don't be, Thea already gave us a rough profile," he gestured to Munch's new partner.

With a little bit shock in his eyes, he glanced at her, "Really?"

"We still need your help. I think you should talk to her."

"I will," he headed towards Thea.

She stood up and offered her hand to him, "Hi, I'm Thea."

"Dr. George Huang," he shook her hand. "So the Captain already told me that you came up with a profile?"

"A rough one," she modestly said. "I lucked out, I saw the movie."

"Movie?"

She then explained to him the similarities between the perpetrator's motivation, The Crawler's and Diaz's crime. He sat there surprised by how intelligent and insightful she was for her age.

"It's an accurate profile, " George told her. "Are you a profiler?"

Shaking her head, she said, "No, I did study for it but I dropped it." She waited a beat. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"My therapist moved to California last month and I need a new one.."

"Are you asking me to be your therapist?"

"I am. Why do you seem surprised?"

With a little half smile he explained, "Detectives rarely approach me like this."

"I know..I grew up around cops all my life; they're not exactly open to talking about their feelings."

"You are."

With a shrug, "I'm not like most cops."

"We can schedule something right now."

"Sure," she took out her mobile phone.

"Hi, I'm Lionel Stephens, Mr. Diaz's assistant," he greeted Elliot and Olivia. "Hernando will see you in his office. "

"How long have you known Hernando?" Olivia immediately asked him.

"Since college," Lionel said with a little smile. "We used to be screenwriting partners," he opened the door for them. "Hernando, the detectives are here to see you."

"Thanks Lionel," Hernando thanked him. "Detectives?" He gestured towards the chairs in front of his desk.

"Stabler and Benson," Elliot told him. "No thanks, we'd rather stand."

He nodded, "You both think that I killed those two boys. I saw it on the news this morning."

Olivia stared at him, "Where were you at 10 PM last night?"

"I was with my boyfriend, Ian Smith, at his apartment."

"Ok, we need to talk to him so he can confirm your alibi," Elliot stated.

Hernando handed him a business card, "Here's his card, he's a dog walker. After you're done wasting time with him, I hope you'll concentrate on catching the real murderer."

Elliot took the business card. "We'll be in touch."

"Bastard," Olivia said after stepping out his office.

Logan led the way into the makeup trailer.

"Garrett Miller?" Logan asked him.

"That's me," a gray haired man approached Logan and Barek. "You must be the detectives."

"Excuse me," Logan answered his phone, "Logan."

"I'm Carolyn Barek and he's Mike Logan. So, Garrett, who has access to this trailer?"

"Everyone..which is why three of The Crawler masks were stolen."

"When?"

"Two days ago. We made six for the stuntman and the actor just in case it gets damaged during filming. And uh, I only lock up when filming wraps for the night but during the day anyone can come in..I mean, no one has ever taken anything before."

Logan joined the conversation. "That was Thea, her and Munch just saw ME Warner. Dark green makeup was found under the victim's fingernails."

Barek nodded, "Dark green, like The Crawler's mask."

"Garrett, we need a sample from one of your masks. Now, we can either get a subpoena or you can voluntary give us one," Logan told him.

He shrugged, "It's fine, I don't have a contract with the studio so the everything here belongs to me. Here," he handed Barek a mask and set of sharp teeth. "Someone also stole two pairs of the Crawler's teeth too."

"I need you to drop me off at the station," Barek told Logan when he started the car.

"Fine," he flatly said.

A moment passed before one of them spoke.

"So, Thea..how long have you known her?"

"Six years," he didn't look at her.

"Is she a good cop?" Barek asked, trying to get more of a response from Logan.

"Yeah."

An annoyed sigh came from her. "Would you cut the bullshit, Logan?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been a total prick to me since this morning. We were partners; I at least deserve some respect!" She almost shouted.

A sarcastic laugh came from him, "Don't try to throw that at me when you transferred to another unit without even telling me! I know we weren't close but you know damn well that if it were me, I would have told you to your face!" He stopped at a red light.

"I had my reasons, Logan-.."

"And I had a right to know because you know I would've told you. So much for respect!"

She saw the anger and hurt in his eyes and said, "I respect you Mike. You're a great cop….But after the Tarkman shooting..I went to your place."

He turned to her,"You did?"

"Yeah..and I uh..I wasn't interested in spending the night on your couch," she glanced down at her lap before meeting his gaze. "You weren't home..That's when I knew that I couldn't be your partner. The Job has to come first.. I..uh..I didn't know how to tell you. So I left."

Taken aback by her admission, his eyes grew large and for one of the few times in his life, he was speechless. During their time together, he had never sensed any affectionate feelings from her. A car horn sounded and pulled him out of his shock.

The rest of the drive was filled with quiet tension until they pulled up to One Police Plaza.

"I'll see ya tomorrow," she said before quickly leaving the car.

He sat in silence trying to digest what just happened.

With his hands in his pockets, Don approached Olivia and Elliot once they walked into the squad room.

"How did it go with Hernando?" He asked his detectives.

In a disappointing tone, Olivia said, "His alibi checks out. He spent the entire night with his boyfriend, Ian Smith."

"Ian could be lying," Elliot commented.

"Well," Munch walked up to them with Thea by his side, "he doesn't have a record, not even a parking ticket. But someone who dates a sex offender doesn't exactly have sound judgment."

"And we won't get Hernando's and the Wallens LUDS until tomorrow morning," Thea said.

"Someone working on the film is the perp," Logan said as he joined everyone.

Don turned in his direction, "What makes you think that?"

"Barek and I talked to Garrett Miller, the makeup artist, he said that someone stole three masks and two sets of teeth from his trailer. He owns everything he makes, so he gave me a mask; I brought it to ME Warner's. She said it was a match for makeup found under Liam's fingernails," he held up a plastic bag, removed the mask from it, and handed it to Thea.

She set it on her desk, "Now all we have to do is find the real monster."

"Well, we can't until we get the LUDS," Don told them. "You guys call it a night."

Suddenly, Sambath walked in holding two white plastic bags, "Hello everyone."

Everyone noticed how Don's face brightened the moment she entered the room.

"Elliot, Olivia, and John, this is Sambath," he introduced them.

"My mother," Thea said with a little smile which then faded. "Oh my God, please tell me you haven't spent all day watching me through the window like you did on my first day of kindergarten?"

With a little chuckle, Sambath replied, "No, I thought you all might be hungry. So, I made stir fry," she handed a bag to Don. "Mike! How have you been?"

"Not bad," he put his arms around her. "You look good..Stir fry? Is it the one with the oyster sauce, chicken, and vegetables?"

"Yep, my best dish."

"I guess I can stick around," he pulled up a chair and smiled.

"Me too, I love stir fry," Olivia reached into the bag and took out a container. "It smells great," she said after removing the lid.

Just then, Elliot's mobile phone rang; he looked at the Caller ID, it was Kathy.

"Kath," he spoke in a low voice. "Yeah, I can't have dinner tonight..work is gonna run late. No, I can't get out of it. Ok, love you, bye."

He put his phone on his desk and watched his fellow detectives before focusing on Olivia. Although a part of him felt guilty for lying to his wife, he had grown tired of coming home to an empty house and tonight, he preferred to spend his time with his partner rather than his wife. He knew he should have felt guilty but he didn't care.

"Elliot, want some?" Olivia offered a plate to him.

"Yeah, thanks," he smiled when he felt fingers brush against hers when he accepted the plate from her.